SOCIAL AND PSYCHOLOGICAL FACTORS FOUND TO BE IMPORTANT DETERMINANTS OF CHILD ABUSE ARE EXAMINED. THE RESEARCH IS BASED ON AN EXPLORATORY SURVEY OF 40 CHILD ABUSE PRACTITIONERS, INCLUDING SOCIAL WORKERS, PSYCHOLOGISTS, NURSES, EDUCATORS, AND CHILD PROTECTIVE STAFF PERSONNEL, WITH BROAD BACKGROUNDS IN ALL AREAS OF SOCIAL SERVICE. PRACTITIONERS SUBMITTED LISTS OF VARIABLES WHICH THEY PERCEIVED TO BE CHILD ABUSE CAUSES; 32 VARIABLES WERE SUBMITTED IN TOTAL. THESE FACTORS COVERED A WIDE RANGE OF TOPICS, EQUALLY DISTRIBUTED OVER THE TWO MAJOR CATEGORIES OF SITUATIONAL-INTERPERSONAL (SI) AND INDIVIDUAL-PERSONALITY (IP) CHARACTERISTICS. MANY OF THE OBSERVERS ALSO CITED MULTIPLE CAUSES FOR THE ABUSE CASES. A LIST OF COMBINATIONS OF FACTORS WAS GIVEN TO THE OBSERVERS, WHO REPORTED ON WHAT THEY THOUGHT WERE THE FIVE MOST COMMON. THE THREE MOST COMMON PAIRS OF VARIABLES (WITH THEIR CHARACTER) MENTIONED BY THE PRACTITIONERS WERE: INAPPROPRIATE PERFORMANCE EXPECTATIONS (SI) AND HOSTILE-AGGRESSIVE BEHAVIOR/LOW FRUSTRATION TOLERANCE ON THE PART OF THE PARENTS (IP); THE MODEL OF CHILD-REARING CARETAKER EXPERIENCE (SI) AND HOSTILE-AGGRESSIVE (IP); AND HOSTILE-AGGRESSIVE (IP) AND SOCIAL ISOLATION (SI). THE MOST IMPORTANT VARIABLES SEEM TO INTERACT WITH EACH OTHER, NOT WITH ONES OF LESSER IMPORTANCE. THE FINDINGS OF THIS STUDY ARE TENTATIVE, AND MORE RESEARCH SHOULD BE DONE IN THIS AREA; HOWEVER, THE STUDY DID PROVIDE SOME EMPIRICAL EVIDENCE ON THE CAUSES OF CHILD ABUSE. MORE POSSIBILITIES OF COMBINATIONS AND THE SPECIFIC EFFECTS THAT EACH OF THESE VARIABLES HAS ON THE OTHERS SHOULD BE STUDIED AS WELL. TABULAR DATA ON THE DETERMINANTS OF CHILD ABUSE ARE PRESENTED, AND REFERENCES ARE INCLUDED. (BAC)